History of Mini

In 1958, the British company “British Motor Corp” founded the automobile brand “Mini”. The history of the company dates back to 1956, when the Suez Crisis clearly demonstrated the problems of the global fuel supply system, leading to the introduction of coupons for gasoline in the UK. At this time, the head of British Motors, Leonard Lord, created a team of engineers, instructing them to create such a compact car that fuel consumption would be the lowest possible, while maintaining the ability to accommodate 4 adults and the necessary luggage in the cabin.

For two years there were continuous work, and after the registration of the trademark “Mini”, it was announced the start of production of the first model of the brand. However, the start of sales was delayed by a few months due to the fact that it took a long time to create a large stock of Mini copies for dealers throughout the UK. Under the hood of the model is a 0.8-liter power unit developed by another company within the British Motor company – Morris, which also launched the production of Mini cars at its factories under the name Morris Mini Minor.

Sales of Mini cars started in August 1959, and over 20,000 Minis were sold in 5 months. However, the first batches also showed the company’s engineers a number of technical flaws that had to be solved by making changes during the final pre-sale preparation. However, since 1960, more than 3 thousand copies of Mini were produced weekly, and on the wave of success, Leonard Lord set about creating a Mini dealer network in India, and also instructed his company’s design bureau to start a new project.

In 1961, the Cooper brothers, leaders of the Formula 1 team of the same name, introduced their version of the super-popular Mini, equipping it with a more powerful power unit. The car turned out to be very successful, and the Mini Cooper in the S modification, introduced in 1963, began to take part in the World Rally Championship, as the car of the newly formed Cooper team. Already in the second year of participation, a victory was won in the most prestigious touring car race – the Monte Carlo Rally, and in 1966 the Mini Cooper became the champion car, allowing its drivers to win 6 out of 7 possible victories on the World Rally Championship tracks.

In 1966, Jaguar became part of the British Motor Corporation. Jaguar engineers were sent to the Mini Design Bureau, where they took part in the work on the new Mini Clubman model. It is worth noting that thanks to the release of a number of Mini modifications, the total number of copies exceeded 1 million in 1969. However, due to a serious outflow of funds from the most successful and profitable BMC project, the modernization of Mini cars was completely stopped. In 1986, the five millionth Mini rolled off the assembly line. However, this ended the original history of the Mini company, which was part of the Rover concern until 1994, after which it came under the control of the German brand BMW.

Six years after the Land Rover breakup, when BMW sold its off-road division to the American concern Ford, the question arose of how to deal with the successful but forgotten Mini brand. The management of the Bavarian company decided to revive the company, and at the same time test new developments. The first Mini to move back to the UK was the Mini Coupe in 2001, which was powered by a 1.6 liter 115 horsepower unit.

This was followed by a whole range of Mini cars, which were still in demand in the European automotive market. On the wave of success, it was decided to start deliveries of Mini cars in 2004 to the United States of America, Russia and China. However, the presence of many modifications of one model, albeit a super-successful one, did not please the management of the parent company, which led to the start of work on the first all-wheel drive Mini.

So in 2010, the Mini Countryman was introduced, built on the basis of the first generation BMW X3. In addition to the original design in the style of classic Mini cars and a bright palette of body colors, it was decided to keep the technical component from the X3. Under the hood is a 1.6-liter power unit with a capacity of 122 and 164 horsepower. In addition, the Mini company began to take part in the Paris-Dakar rally raid, winning its first title in 2012, and defending the title of the best all-wheel drive crossover in 2013.

In 2012, the Mini company acquired its own tuning studio, called Cooper. So gradually the lineup was replenished with modifications of each version of the Mini performed by Cooper, who developed the original aerodynamic body kit, as well as modernized the existing power units together with BMW minders.

In 2013, the company continued to develop in several directions – racing, serial production and tournaments. In addition, wanting to expand the boundaries of influence, she has established a flow of new models to China. In autumn, the company carried out a three-day tour of its new products in the main cities of the world: London, Los Angeles and Shanghai.

In early 2014, the Mini Paceman and Countryman were announced to be discontinued from 2016 in Austria. This is due to the termination of the contract between Mini and BMW. However, the company’s management assured that the production capacity in the Netherlands and England would be sufficient for stable production of cars.

In 2015, Mini continued to update the existing model range and develop new products. In addition, the company, as before, participates in various social and cultural events, and also tries its hand at new technologies.